Bolivia

American  

[buh-liv-ee-uh, boh-, baw-lee-vyah] / bəˈlɪv i ə, boʊ-, bɔˈli ḇyɑ /

noun

1. a republic in western South America. 404,388 sq. mi. (1,047,370 sq. km). La Paz and Sucre.

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Bolivia British  

/ bəˈlɪvɪə /

noun

1. an inland republic in central S America: original Aymará Indian population conquered by the Incas in the 13th century; colonized by Spain from 1538; became a republic in 1825; consists of low plains in the east, with ranges of the Andes rising to over 6400 m (21 000 ft) and the Altiplano, a plateau averaging 3900 m (13 000 ft) in the west; contains some of the world's highest inhabited regions; important producer of tin and other minerals. Official languages: Spanish, Quechua, and Aymara. Religion: Roman Catholic. Currency: boliviano. Capital: La Paz (administrative); Sucre (judicial). Pop: 10 461 053 (2013 est). Area: 1 098 580 sq km (424 260 sq miles)

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Bolivia Cultural  

1. Republic in western South America, bordered by Chile and Peru to the west, Brazil to the north and east, Paraguay to the southeast, and Argentina to the south. Sucre is its constitutional capital and its largest city; La Paz is its administrative capital.

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Discover More

The Bolivian government has long fought widespread drug production and trafficking in the country.

Simón Bolívar founded Bolivia in 1825 after winning independence from Spanish rule.

Other Word Forms

• Bolivian adjective
• anti-Bolivian adjective
• pro-Bolivian adjective
• pseudo-Bolivian adjective

Example Sentences

Bolivia and the United States have resumed joint anti-drug trafficking investigations, the South American country's drugs czar Ernesto Justiniano told AFP on Wednesday.

From Barron's • Apr. 1, 2026

More recently, federal prosecutors indicted former U.S. ambassador to Bolivia Victor Manuel Rocha in 2023.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 24, 2026

Authoritarian turns can reverse themselves, and the V-Dem report finds that 10 other nations—including Bolivia, Brazil, and Poland—are turning back toward democracy after a period of decline.

From Slate • Mar. 17, 2026

It resembled one of those lesser super-groups in the Marvel Cinematic Universe — you got Costa Rica instead of Mexico, Bolivia instead of Brazil.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 9, 2026

But they did not draw systematic scholarly attention until 1961, when William Denevan came to Bolivia.

From "1491" by Charles C. Mann